{10 Reasons Why I Can’t Stand Valentine’s Day}

Posted on January 28, 2017

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I know I’ve been talking all about hot dates and what to wear for Valentine’s, but I have to be honest… I really can’t stand the stereotype of V-Day! At least to me, I feel that too many people have lost focus about what Valentine’s is really about. Lately, when I grace my favorite place to waste money (Target) I am taken aback by the mass amount of pink and red hearts, V-Day cards, lots and lots of chocolate and an overwhelming amount of roses. Has this “holiday” just become a huge racket for companies to rip us off and make money with the illusion of love?? How did it get to this point?? What happened to just being happy with the one you love without going overboard spending money?? Why is there so much pressure to be overly loving on this one day when we should be focused on each other everyday??

When I asked Grayson what we should do for Valentine’s Day he quickly said It’s a crock of shit! But i’ll do something if you want… Strong words, but I do have to agree with him. At least he would play along if I wanted to do something special! I honestly can’t remember the last time I really went all out for Valentine’s besides in middle school or with my high school sweetheart and that was over 13 years ago! As I’ve matured and found my one true love, I’ve realized how superficial Valentine’s really is…

Here are my top 10 reasons Valentine’s Day is a racket and should go away:

1. You feel like crap if you’re single (sometimes). Not only do you just feel like poo being alone but you get to see everyone’s posts on social media that make you want to claw your eyes out. Even though I’m married, all of those posts STILL make me want to claw my eyes out!

2. You still kinda feel like crap even when you’re in a relationship. The anxiety and stress for the guy to come up with something amazing and romantic sounds awful… I know I would be stressed out if I had to plan something extravagant and different than what we would normally do for date night.

3. People put too much focus on gifts and STUFF. Do you really NEED that stuff?? No. People are EXPECTED to buy gifts! There just seems to be an inappropriate focus on gifts. Why don’t you spend your time with your lover?? We should be showing each other love every single day not expecting to get designer stuff. I recently saw a piece of art that said I hate the Valentine’s Day Industry but I am still madly in love with you.

4. The girls that LOVE this holiday just want, want, want… (major turnoff) There’s also too much stress for the guy to come up with extravagant gifts. I know girls expect something a little more high end just because it’s Valentine’s! And you know they all just want bragging rights. 🙂 Which brings me to my next point…

5. The mark up on flowers is insane!!! No need to explain this one…

6. Reservations are a hassle!!

7. Kids are also getting this holiday engrained in their heads at such a young age. I used to be so excited for V-Day in elementary school and I feel like that was a huge influence on the way I thought about it growing up. That is, until I realized that it isn’t about what we’ve been taught, but about the love of your life.

8. It’s not nearly as fun for the girl to gift the guy… I mean, how boring.

9. Retailers are just shoving this crap down our throats!! I don’t want to see Valentine’s Day stuff immediately after Christmas!! It’s over 2 months away!!

10. Who wants to feel fat and unsexy in the lingerie you’re expected to wear?? Can’t I just feel fat in my PJs devouring pizza??

11. Since 3 and 4 were kinda similar here’s a bonus reason – it’s just all so cliché.

If we really focused on the roots of Valentine’s instead of this Hallmark holiday I think it would be a little more tolerable!

SO, what do y’all think of Valentine’s?? I know I stopped hating it when I stopped putting any focus on it at all and just acting like it was any other normal day. I don’t expect any gifts or anything special. I will be spending quality time with my husband as we would any other day. But I will take some overpriced flowers! 🌺 🌼 💐

To celebrate my favorite holiday, I put a fun little giveaway together for a Valentine’s Day Survival Kit!! To enter, head to the bottom of the post!

30 Comments

Seriously girl, I couldn’t agree more. The husband & I never really “celebrated” valentines day. We definitely didn’t do gifts or cards. At the most, we always cook a meal in that weekend but we do that every weekend. The only difference is I usually buy some red roses instead of other flowers to have on the table. If there is one thing I can’t stand is the obligation to get a gift much like Christmas and we don’t exchange for that either.

3. People put too much focus on gifts and STUFF. Do you really NEED that stuff?? No. People are EXPECTED to buy gifts! There just seems to be an inappropriate focus on gifts. Why don’t you spend your time with your lover?? We should be showing each other love every single day not expecting to get designer stuff. I recently saw a piece of art that said I hate the Valentine’s Day Industry but I am still madly in love with you.

I have been with my boyfriend for 4 years and we seriously just CHILL and make it a point to NOT go out – LOL.

I personally LOVE Valentine’s Day, but it’s never been like the commercial way to celebrate. When I was little, my mom would bring us a special lunch and treat to school. When we got home she would have an amazing home cooked dinner for us that was all heart themed. We would go around the dinner table and talk about the aspects of everyone in our family that we loved and appreciated. This is a tradition I brought into my marriage and I couldn’t be happier. I always tell my husband, if he wants to buy me flowers, buy them AFTER the actual day because they are way cheaper. We sometimes buy gifts, usually something they need. I think what ruins this holiday is our culture. Bring it back to celebrating the things you love in each other.

I loved reading this post and I agree with your points. It is so true that retailers just want us to spend money and the stores are literally covered with stuff for Valentine’s Day.
Although this is mostly in America, growing up in Europe and now living here again these past two years, I notice that many things including Valentine’s Day are not as commercialized as they re in the states.

I agree with all your points! Valentine’s Day has become one of those holidays where retailers just want you to buy stuff. It’s not about the holiday itself but mostly about the gifts you purchased or got.

Susan Biddle

February 2, 2017 at 5:50 am

I feel like there is a ton of pressure on parents to buy gifts for kids at every single holiday, the sad thing is that they market to the kids and get the kids to put pressure on parents to buy. Like you said, two months after Christmas? Seriously? My partner and I do not exchange gifts on holidays, we just do little things randomly like wake one another up with a coffee with a chocolate heart on top or write notes to one another randomly. My little ones have birthdays coming up and there is no way I will be spending on Valentine’s Day. When they asked what the day was for, I told them it’s just a day everyone has to remember to say I love you, just like every other day. They just made it a day in case someone forgets. Of course I do like to sit with them and draw little heart cards for family and will probably make them heart shaped pancakes. I really don’t mind the holiday, I am just sick of the pressure to buy in general. Thanks for saying it.

Exactly!!! It’s extremely frustrating!! I don’t have kids but can definitely understand how they would put pressure on parents to buy them something. I feel like they are that way anytime you bring them into a store but now that these holidays are so public that it’s getting shoved down their throats they just have to have something! That gets expensive!

Nataly

February 5, 2017 at 8:26 pm

I do totally agree with you on this one! There is too much pressure put on each other to get a gift or to do something extravagant. My hubby and I just exchange a sweet card and maybe some candy. We have actually gone out to celebrate since we first started dating. Great post Ashely! 🙂

So much yes!! I absolutely agree with you!! I remember loving Valentine’s day as a kid in school but the older I got and started realizing what the holiday was really about the more I started to dislike it. I prefer my husband to show me he loves me in a special way because he wants to, not because he feels like he has to. We started dating our junior year of high school and not once have we celebrated Valentine’s day.